Payment Card Industry (PCI) is a worldwide information security standard assembled by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC). The standard, which is currently comprised of 12 guidelines, was created to help organizations that process card payments prevent credit card fraud through increased controls around data and its exposure to compromise. The standard applies to all organizations which hold, process, or pass cardholder information from any card branded with the logo of one of the card brands, including shopping cart sites, e-commerce and retail merchants and other merchant services providers.

'PCI compliance is critical for retail merchants and consumers alike,' said Dennis Thomsen, CEO of Clear Blue Security. 'Each time a consumer makes a purchase with a credit card, they gamble with their personal data. The chances of someone stealing their purchase information increases when the consumer makes a purchase through a company who does not follow PCI compliance guidelines.'

According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, more than 70 retailers and payment processors have disclosed breaches since 2006, involving tens of millions of credit and debit card numbers, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.

Clear Blue Security addresses 5 of the critical PCI Compliance requirements. They also support periodic audits by generating reports and information to validate compliance to corporate policies and identify noncompliance issues prior to an audit. Here's how:

Requirement 1: Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data
Requirement 2: Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters

Clear Blue security helps maintain the integrity of the firewall by scanning for open ports that create outside access to the network. As part of the applied security policy, Clear Blue Security identifies blank passwords and checks against 25 other security best practices.

Clear Blue Security monitors the entire network, including laptops, 24 hours a day - 7 days a week. As a SaaS enabled product, Clear Blue Security constantly provides updated security best practices and policies to business networks.